Outside-In With DCN: Meet The Founding Team of MTrac

Welcome to Outside-In with DCN where we interview upcoming startups and businesses in the cannabis industry. Each interview you will get to meet the founders taking a leap into building a company they believe in. Gain knowledge of their services, their mission and what makes each of the unique. On this Outside-In, with DCN we spoke with Vanessa Luna, the CEO of MTrac and Aaron Adler, the CRO of MTrac.

Meet MTrac

MTrac is a commerce ecosystem where consumers and businesses engage in digital payment transactions. With their technology, they are solving the security and regulatory issues associated with cash-heavy operations. Although their system works incredibly well with the cannabis industry, its application can be widely used by any business or society, which aims to eliminate cash and provide a digital commerce substitute that is inclusive of all who wish to participate.

DCN: I would love to learn more about the founding team behind MTrac. Can you please introduce them to our readers.

Jason LeBlanc is the Director of Business Development; Jay Frentsos is our Director of Marketing, Kevin Curtis is the Director of Sales, Patrick Kilcoyne is the Director of Technology, Billie Jo Smith is the Operations and Compliance Specialist. Steve Luna is the Director of Operations NV; Mitch Gonzales is the Art Director, Stephanie Kirby is our Office Administrator, Kenya Kerio is our Marketing Specialist.

Vanessa, without a doubt, is the leader of our organization. It was her vision that launched the company, and over the last few months, we’ve assembled such an incredible team to deliver on that vision. Our team comes together from many industries including cannabis, legal, finance, and marketing, all representing leading companies in each of their respective fields.

Our collective experience brings a broad spectrum of assets to the table to deliver this amazing technology to market. Our team has grown significantly, more than doubling over the last two months, and we feel that we’ve made great strides in brand awareness and developing a real solution that aims to make our cannabis communities safer and more compliant so that we can grow and focus on success and legitimacy from a regulatory perspective.

DCN: Can you share the backstory of MTrac and how the idea evolved?

MTrac: MTrac initially been conceived as an equity holdings company. Through its key partnerships, the company provided financial and marketing solutions to businesses operating in the cannabis space. As the industry evolved, it became clear that banking was nowhere in sight. After seeing the manner in which these ‘legal’ businesses were excluded from participation in the traditional banking model, the MTrac Mission was born to entirely focus on delivering its payment technology to market.

Now it’s become our passion for assisting in making safer communities and for providing much-needed relief for these businesses by offering our simple and transparent solution, which is also a management tool capable of streamlining expenditure processes and automated compliance so that our clients can focus on what they do best.

DCN: MTrac is introducing a blockchain powered payment solution to the cannabis industry, for those who may not be familiar, why is this an essential need for the cannabis industry?

MTrac: A blockchain solution is essential for the cannabis industry because it allows digital payments to exist without the need of a third-party intermediary, or banks, which are currently avoiding the cannabis industry altogether.

DCN: Blockchain 101: For our readers who are not familiar with blockchain, can you please provide an example of what exactly blockchain is?

MTrac: Blockchain is a vast ledger or database that runs on multiple devices and provides accounting and repository of information, including but not limited to currency and logistics systems. Think of the ledger as a chain of blocks, and each block is created with a pointer to the previous block creating a blockchain.

All transactions occurring on blockchain are verified by an automated consensus mechanism, which can happen in a public or private blockchain. Blockchain technology can be applied to any multi-step transaction that requires traceability and visibility. The MTrac system is built on an individual, closed loop blockchain, permissioned by GreenBox POS, which allows for trustworthy transactions among multiple parties without the trust of a third party intermediary, e.g., a bank.

DCN: Who do you provide your services too?

MTrac: We provide our services to any business that wants to go cashless, either out of necessity to digitally pay for vendor invoices, bills, payroll, and taxes, or to those businesses that simply wants to minimize the risk of internal and external theft.

DCN: What has been the hardest thing about launching a cannabis tech company like MTrac?

MTrac: The most challenging aspect has been development initiatives and building a system that is compliant in a constantly evolving regulatory landscape.

DCN: Where are your services available? What are your expansion plans for 2018?

MTrac: We are currently at Mankind, soon to be The Healing Center (THC), with several more merchants in the pipeline here in SoCal and in NV.

DCN: When looking at your competitors, what would you say are your competitive advantages?

MTrac: Most of our competitors offer a cryptocurrency solution, or they provide an actual bank solution. Our competitive advantage is that our system is neither. Funds deposited in our system are verified and secured at the point of entry, while the value of the currency remains in a one to one ratio through transaction processes within the blockchain. It even remains verified in that 1:1 ratio upon exit out of the system, of which there are multiple exit points, such as virtual credit cards, gift cards, or eChecks.

DCN: As we all hit the halfway point for the new year, what is the best piece of advice you would like to share with your fellow entrepreneurs?

MTrac: Together we are stronger. All of our combined efforts are shaping the industry, and we have an incredible opportunity to be a part of real change. There will always be ups and downs, progress and setbacks, just hang in there and do everything with a strong sense of ethics and integrity.

DCN: The DCN community is here to help out our fellow startups, how can the DCN community help MTrac?

MTrac: Your professional support and friendship are invaluable to our business, our growth, and our direction. Please share the MTrac message of stronger, safer, and more compliant communities and keep the conversation going!

DCN: For those looking for a demo, what is the best way they can contact you?

DCN: Thank you, Vanessa and Aaron, for giving our readers more insight into MTrac and what you and your team have been working on the past few months. Before we let you go, any final words to share with the DCN audience?

MTrac:We certainly enjoyed this little chat, and we look forward to seeing all of you out in the field!

To learn more about MTrac, please visit their website: www.mtractech.com.

Want to follow them on social media, visit them @mtractech

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